Electronic flight bags could boost operational safety, effectiveness

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My unit has minimums for charge, but it's less than 90% (our sortie duration is a bit less than the heavies). You can Q3 for it, but I haven't seen it done. Our CCV also maintains a loaner iPad in the event of someone's having issues.

KC-10 crew have iPads individually issued as well. Booms are also issued a small WiFi printer for printing the Form F out of the W&B program.

They're locked down in an AMC-approved EFB configuration; no other uses permitted.

Required to have 10% charge per planned flight hour, min. 50%. We're approved to use the standard iPad wall wart charger, plugged in to the 110v outlet in the lav, in flight. I haven't heard about any iPads ending up in the blue juice bowl, but it's just a matter of time (if it hasn't already happened).

We also have a standardized password rotation, mandated by OGV. Technically, you can be Q3'd for wrong password, along with insufficient charge, not being in airplane mode on the jet, and the pubs not being up-to-date; all those items are supposed to be verified on checkrides IAW 11-2KC-10 Vol 2. Personally, I think an iPad/ePubs Q3 would be an indicator of something else going on... but that's just my non-evaluator opinion.

Do the aircraft that are utilizing EFBs have a USB plug-in to recharge/power them during flight? Most GA aircraft have that ability and I'm wondering if the USAF has had the foresight to add the feature to its aircraft as well.

No USB on the -10. I heard a rumor that ARINC had offered to hard-wire a couple USB power ports in as a value-added part of the CNS/ATM mod, using FAA-approved parts, for some ridiculously low dollar figure (at my .civ job, we could hard-wire two USB power ports, with FAA approval, for around $2000). AMC said no... just like they said no to ARINC's offer to provide a cable on each jet to connect the mission laptop to the ACARS printer.

I'm not even sure what AMC has to say about external batteries (never bothered to look it up, I just assume they're not permitted). Since I have an AMC-approved charging method on my jet, I don't worry about it.

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I'm not even sure what AMC has to say about external batteries (never bothered to look it up, I just assume they're not permitted). Since I have an AMC-approved charging method on my jet, I don't worry about it.

If you can get the Apple brick to stay plugged in...gravity's a bitch.

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I have been a Linux/Mac guy for years but I'm ok with different technology. The surface, so far is a huge let down. I've had it lock up multiple times, just trying to put in my password! A hard reset is the only way to unfuck it. That's ok until I'm descending into the terminal environment and need the plates. Used an iPad for years and never had a problem. This is just one in a long list of problems.

If it's being used for flight it sucks. If not, I see you're point about encrypted emails, etc...

Sounds about right for a govt program. Progress being held up by one person.

I just want to give another 2 thumbs down for the Surface RT. In cruise yesterday it was locking up and had to be rebooted. On descent it just shutdown without warning, apparently because it did not recognize the fully charged detachable keyboard/battery that I had attached 20 minutes earlier when the main battery dropped below 20% (you have to detach and reattach the keyboard multiple times to get it to recognize that second battery). And the grand finale, at less than 1000' on final into a certain busy class B airspace, ceilings were 002V004 with "RVR reported greater than 6000," when the approach plate completely blacked out. I swapped to the taxi diagram and it was black too. The captain's plate was the only operable one for that last minute or so of the approach.

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So ACC recently stood up it's own EFB program. Just slightly late to the party I suppose. I wanted to revive the discussion and see what other units are up to these days, especially other CAF folks who are starting to fly with iPads. Here's some questions to throw out in no particular order:

- iPad issuing: Is anyone issuing out iPads at the step desk before flight? They were starting to do that in AETC last I saw. When you're flying solo in a fighter/trainer/U-2/etc, ACC is requiring us to carry two iPads for redundancy. Hauling around two iPads that are locked down to the point of just barely being useful seems like a pain, issuing them from the ops desk before flight, or at least a spare seems more reasonable.

- Charging/mounting solutions: In the T-38 I've started flying with a battery back in my kneeboard so I can keep it charged on cross country flights. Any air frames successfully get a power supply installed in the jet? We've looked at building adapters to plug into the map light, but no fielded solutions yet. Same story on mounting solutions. I think most fighter types are going to be relegated to using it as a kneeboard, due to limited cockpit space, but accessories like the Stratus GPS receiver really deserve they're own integrated mounting solution. We've been using the suction cup mounts that come with the Stratus but they fall off all the time and don't do well pulling Gs. Hell even Velcro to the glareshield would be better.

- Mobile Device Management / IT support: Anyone have IT support to help them out or is it all bro-level additional duties assigned to the one guy in your unit who likes to nerd out? I've seen mostly the latter. We're trying to get a contractor/GS position to help out on that front.

- Classified Use: Anyone out there successfully using iPads in classified roles? I imagine AFSOC guys have some experience with this. The goal is to have moving map functionality as well as e-reader function. What about ForeFlight? Seems like it would be possible to use it in a standalone device but you'd just need a way to side load the licensing info to the app. FF already has a feature to side load all the nav data and pubs. Also, I've heard about ATAK tablets being used in flight but I think that's an Android platform.

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For solo flight, will they not allow you to just carry bare-bones paper pubs for backup?

It's basically all or nothing. So to clarify we have our bro-level home grown iPads that we're currently flying with in a "PGU" role but those don't eliminate paper. In order to eliminate paper we have to fly with iPads that are configured via ACC's server (and completely locked down) per the ACC FCIF. We might be able to do a waiver request to just carry 1 of the ACC iPads and use our local Beale iPads as a backup.

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- Mobile Device Management / IT support: Anyone have IT support to help them out or is it all bro-level additional duties assigned to the one guy in your unit who likes to nerd out? I've seen mostly the latter. We're trying to get a contractor/GS position to help out on that front.

- Classified Use: Anyone out there successfully using iPads in classified roles? I imagine AFSOC guys have some experience with this. The goal is to have moving map functionality as well as e-reader function. What about ForeFlight? Seems like it would be possible to use it in a standalone device but you'd just need a way to side load the licensing info to the app. FF already has a feature to side load all the nav data and pubs. Also, I've heard about ATAK tablets being used in flight but I think that's an Android platform.

The AFSOC Mission Systems Support Center run by Digital Dagger would be a good POC on AFSOC's EFB program. AFSOC.MSSC@us.af.mil. They do all the MDM for the command. Customer service quality is hit or miss for random CGOs, so I'd recommend reaching out high-level if you want good quality advice on things that may be useful to your corner of ACC.

In terms of classified use, when I left AD AFSOC U-28 land, (summer 2014) we could bring our EFBs into the vault for briefing/debriefing with specific EMSEC controls, but we did not actually store any classified data on them. We has foreflight installed and subscriptions for all crew members.

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Concur with NSPLAYR, still the same for AFSOC, everyone is issued their own as well, comes in handy so you can highlight/bookmark the sections of pubs you find useful to you. For Flight and Jeppenson apps come installed and paid for. You can download any app you can find on the AppStore as well, I have pandora, a couple games and e books on mine for TDYs, deployments, or when I need 5 minutes in the office to recage.

You need a couple people in the unit dedicated to making this work, networking, updating, and getting everything running, and a way stan/Eval can easily make up to date pubs changes and sync to everyone. When I left for my current deployment we were working on a weekly push product so everyone could see their currencies/current flying sched/etc.

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It's basically all or nothing. So to clarify we have our bro-level home grown iPads that we're currently flying with in a "PGU" role but those don't eliminate paper. In order to eliminate paper we have to fly with iPads that are configured via ACC's server (and completely locked down) per the ACC FCIF. We might be able to do a waiver request to just carry 1 of the ACC iPads and use our local Beale iPads as a backup.

So to summarize ACC’s requirement to endorse EFB use over paper: EFBs are backed up with EFBs because EFBs can fail in ways that paper pubs cannot.

Makes sense.

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Yeah the bro-level iPads are nice for all those reasons, it's useful in and out of the cockpit. The amount of restriction and micro-management on EFBs is crazy. No-one locks up the paper flip at night. It's on me to make sure I have what I need for the flight. No guarantees that someone didn't rip out all the approach plates out of the book to some airport for his GA flying. The distrust of electronics is just endemic of the older generation, and those are the people in leadership roles that have to be convinced.

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You know, here's an area the AF could borrow a page from the airline playbook. UAL, company issued ipad with Jepp, WX, Go/No-go (their version), crew papers, all pubs, and any other app needed to fly a plane. It snaps into a holder on the plane so its secure in flight. Updates are pushed (pubs) or hit update (Jepp) to ensure the latest data. Ipad is wifi and cellular. I can update it at home on my own wifi, on the way to the airport, in a hotel room off free wifi, or at Starbucks getting the morning coffee. So, an easy solution exists. The cost of fear is what's stopping them.

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You know, here's an area the AF could borrow a page from the airline playbook. UAL, company issued ipad with Jepp, WX, Go/No-go (their version), crew papers, all pubs, and any other app needed to fly a plane. It snaps into a holder on the plane so its secure in flight. Updates are pushed (pubs) or hit update (Jepp) to ensure the latest data. Ipad is wifi and cellular. I can update it at home on my own wifi, on the way to the airport, in a hotel room off free wifi, or at Starbucks getting the morning coffee. So, an easy solution exists. The cost of fear is what's stopping them.